"You either picture yourself leading a group or being a follower in one" with J Michael Andre
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Photo credit is: Canvas Art studio, CanvasArt.com
J Michael Andre is an Artist, Entrepreneur, and founder of CanvasArt.com, a company that specializes in creating personalized hand-painted family portraits. Jay has operated several firms in the Art industry since 1995 and has operated each with a charitable perspective. Doing Well by Doing Good has been a guiding mantra.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
You could say I've been a serial entrepreneur since age 19 when I started my first business. It was a home security company called "Sure-Locked Homes" in Valencia, California. For some reason, the idea of working for myself, building something, always seemed exponentially more appealing than working for someone else. Entrepreneurship is in the blood I suppose. Those who have taken a similar course can almost certainly relate. After moving to Nevada I started a construction company which grew considerably in the 90s. When I realized my interest in this industry wasn't growing in kind I sold the firm to start an art business where I've meandered ever since. It's fun and I love being creative. There are also so many ways to give back.
What inspired you to start your business?
As mentioned above I think the idea of starting a business is probably innate. You either picture yourself leading a group or being a follower in one. That's my guess. My father was also an entrepreneur. Perhaps the experience of watching him create and master his own destiny had an influence. It just feels natural.
Where is your business based?
Our current business is located in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. Where the Sun never stops shining even though, in the Summer, you often wish it would.
How did you start your business?
Proceeds from the sale of my Construction company allowed me to exploit the idea of my choosing. I had always had a fascination with art, in all forms, and felt drawn to something more creative.
What were the first steps you took?
The first step was obviously a plan. We looked at the market and said hey..." is this new [Art] idea something someone would want?. Can we mass produce it affordably? Is there room for us in this space?" After years of constructing commercial signs for casinos, we gained a great deal of experience working with special lighting effects like Neon and Fiber Optics. We imagined an Art product that would utilize these lighting effects and sought to explore that concept. Trade Shows were early steps in which we offered products to test appeal. Our first idea was neon sculpture Art. They were very colorful but to our surprise, we saw little demand for them in the home. We then designed a collection of pictures, framed pictures for wall decor, and saw much greater interest. We committed time to R&D and learned how to make our unique lighted art pictures [electrically] safe and then headed to market. The same steps are required today. We needed a web presence, a catalog, and some publicity in the Art trade to get retailers on board.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
We did some telemarketing and direct mail campaigns early on but I would have to say the best way to promote our [visual] products was to show them in person. This meant traveling and appearing at various wholesale Art trade shows around the Country. For us, having retailers see our product in person worked the best. We took immense orders at these shows.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for us had to be in 2002 or so when we ran into a group of counterfeiters from China. They actually found us at one of these trade shows, saw the business we were doing, and then immediately sought to copy our formula. Not just copying the type of product but copying the actual artworks themselves, for which we had U.S. copyrights. They copied our company name as well and listen to this: they even copied my name, personally, saying I was now a manager at a Chinese factory where our products were being made. These types of commercial predators that exist, primarily in China, are just astonishing. When this happens there is almost no way to stop them. The goods come by the ocean into U.S. ports in secret containers. The importer then floods the market at a lower price than the original. The attack only stopped in 2008 after the housing crisis threw the economy into a recession which made these container-sized shipments less viable. Our response to the assault on our business was to diversify into products that didn't lend themselves to mass production. Something Chinese factories would not find appealing. This is when we started our sister company Canvas Art which sought to turn a favorite family photo into a painting on canvas. We used our team of Artists to grow and expand this business and have not seen the same kind of interference again.
How do you stay focused?
For me, it's my family that helps me stay focused. I want to be there for my children as they grow up and grow old. And the only way I can help them is if I'm successful. The older I grow also gives me more appreciation for time. When you're successful you have the means to delegate which in turn creates more free time.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
For us, we focus on quality. In our new family portrait painting business, there are now many competitors. Mark Cuban said something a few years ago that I found very relatable when it comes to the growth of a new business over time. He said the first to appear are the 'Innovators'. This would be people like us. The second is the 'Imitators'. The final ones to appear are the 'Idiots'. These are more imitators who seek to ply in your trade at the lowest cost margin possible. To keep our market position and sustain our appeal we focus on quality. There is always a seat at the table for a business that provides a quality product.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
I'm going to start again with quality. Since 2005 when we opened the Art studio we've noticed that taking time to produce the best artistic result for clients (vs the quickest process), truly touching people by bringing back a heartfelt family memory, be the most effective way to grow our business. It's also the most gratifying. By honoring quality as our first priority we've been able to achieve a 30% return rate. A full 30% of our customers are those who have worked with us in the past to commission a painting of one type or another. Go for quality. People will pay a little more for it and it never goes out of style.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Be methodical, careful and analytical in your approach. Make sure the idea you have is something people actually need or desire, that you can produce and offer the item affordably and lastly, there is a place for you in the market. If you're young and in college, stay there. Graduate. I never knew what I missed by dropping out in year 3 to start my first business until life showed me the cost of my ignorance.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
Don't roll your eyes but my favorite apps are Google and YouTube. These are teachers who you can ask any question and, with enough diligence, get the most correct answer. They are expert resources in our lives. The blog I like is Quora. They feature simple questions, things I actually want to know more about, and a short answer for each. Favorite book:“The Underground Railroad: A Novel.” A heart-wrenching and beautiful story about slavery in the South told from a perspective — through a novel. It made me think.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
The hands down winners are Google and YouTube. They are like having personal friends who are experts in every field. All you have to do is ask them a question. My Son, a 20 year old College student, began raving this year about Cryptocurrency. The only way for me to become literate and converse with him on the topic was by consuming the freely available material on YouTube. My Son gets his information somewhere else. He is down $1200 ytd on his crypto investments.
Who is your business role model? Why?
Elon Musk. Not even a close second. He's reshaping the way we use energy with electric cars, builds rocket ships and dates beautiful Women. He makes all these endeavors look and sound easy. I also especially like his honesty. An internal SpaceX email went viral this year in which Elon said all Managers must follow his mandates or be subject to termination- unless they could prove to him that he's wrong. Who else would say something like that?
How do you balance work and life?
Yeah, I'm working on that. I'm not sure type "A" personalities who are innately driven to go 100mph all the time can find balance easily. I exercise, do breath work and I'm going to look into mindfulness in 2020 (I swear). But I honestly think I'll be happier when I retire and just spend more time with my kids, watching sports and doing charitable work.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
The beach. To get near one and just soak up the sight, the sounds and the smell. There is something about the Ocean that just dissolves stress.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
New product launches (yup, more Artsy stuff) and continue volunteering at the local Food Bank. This year I want to educate myself [considerably] more on the topic of climate change. And perhaps, not sure what shape this will take, but see if there is some role I can play.
How can our readers connect with you?
We're Artists who make people happy by painting with a brush. You can follow our work in the Galleries we post on our site. Two interesting projects we're working on at the moment are portraits that highlight the careers of NFL Coach John Madden and U.S. Senator from Nevada Harry Reid.
J Michael Andre, founder